


Soaring

by Kasen



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: First Date, Fluff, M/M, Skating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 05:54:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17156465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kasen/pseuds/Kasen
Summary: Shiro is too enamored with Keith to realize that he accepted skating with him for their first date.Shiro can't skate.





	Soaring

Shiro felt his heart hammer in his chest as Keith, _Keith_ of all people suggested skating as their first date. It all happened so fast. Shiro accepted without thinking. In one moment, he was stumbling over his words and his feelings, blurting out his love for Keith when the two were alone, and in the next, he was nodding to whatever Keith was saying, not really listening after the _“I love you too, Shiro.”_  

Shiro let out a shaky sigh. Keith loved him too. After everything they went through, he shouldn’t have been surprised. Keith stuck his neck out for Shiro time and time again. He never opposed Shiro’s goals or hindered his motivation. Keith stood by his side for years, and Shiro often berated himself for taking his sweet time in first; realizing his feelings for Keith, and second; gathering the courage to confess to his best friend.  

No, after realizing his feelings and gathering the courage to fess up, Shiro understood that Keith returning the gesture was not what he should have been surprised about. Thinking back, Keith liking him too was a given. What _wasn’t_ as obvious was Keith being such a sap when it came to dating. 

“Where should our first date be? Dinner is boring and the movies means no talking...” 

Shiro had blinked at the question, too far gone to understand what Keith was asking. 

“Maybe an activity? What do we both like doing in our spare time?” 

“Sparing?” Shiro asked dumbly, trying to feign attentiveness despite his eyes glued to Keith holding his hand. The other had reached out during the confession. He had squeezed Shiro’s warm digits as he reassured Shiro that his feelings were mutual. Shiro couldn’t take his eyes away from their intertwined fingers. 

“That’s not romantic!” Keith scolded. 

“Oh,” Shiro said, again, dumbly. 

“We could go skating. Everything’s frozen over, so... is that okay?” 

“Of course it’s okay, why wouldn’t it be okay?” Shiro blurted.  

“Okay,” Keith smiled. “I can figure out the time and stuff since I know your schedule.” 

“Okay,” Shiro smiled, a little breathless. Wow. His first date with Keith. 

Skating. 

Shiro’s stomach dropped at the realization. 

Skating?! 

*** 

 _I can’t skate!_ Shiro thought in panic as he draped his coat over his right shoulder, keeping it propped over the broad muscle while guiding his left arm through the sleeve. His right prosthetic floated uselessly outside of the jacket’s right sleeve, far too large to fit inside and make him look a little less robotic and a little more human. Shiro stared at himself in the mirror for a moment. His white hair looked soft, and it fluffed up surprisingly neatly as he combed his fingers through the thick strands.  

He matched the snow settled outside his room on the deck of the Atlas. Shiro sighed. He couldn’t believe his luck. They were touring the Earth, working to bring it back to the state it once was. They were helping several communities recover from the Galran takeover. They had, to Shiro’s dismay, happen to be docked on an icy terrain, helping what felt like an entire nation originally without power and supplies settle in for the cruel winter. After spending over a month getting the previously enslaved community up and running, their more normal day-to-day activities soon returned as well. Shiro expected Lance and Hunk to take up the offer of fun winter activities with their large, goofy grins, but never would he have imagined Keith being right there with them. 

A knock on the door pulled Shiro’s attention away from his mirrored reflection. 

“Come in.” 

Keith stepped into the room looking handsome and severely underdressed in a thin maroon jacket, black jeans, brown combat boots and nothing but a wine-red beanie. Shiro’s gaze immediately fell onto the other’s exposed neck. It was pale and unblemished and had caught Shiro’s eye several times in the past. One day, he would be able to commit that part of Keith to memory with his tongue. For now, he would gladly accept openly staring at it now that they were together. 

“Ready to go?” 

“Keith, you’ll freeze,” Shiro commented, almost hoping he could swindle his way out of this date and convince Keith to do something else. 

“I don’t really get cold,” Keith said. When Shiro shot him a concerned look, he merely shrugged. “Galra genes.” 

“Ah,” Shiro said, inwardly cursing his part-alien boyfriend’s robustness to the elements.  

“I spoke to some of the townsfolk a few miles away from here —the ones we helped a week ago. They said they’ve started up their skating rink again in celebration of getting their power back.” 

“Great,” Shiro croaked. 

“Pidge is heading there with Matt and their dad to speak with the town’s mayor. We can hitch a ride with them.” 

 _There’s literally no turning back,_ Shiro realized as Keith flashed him one of the cutest smiles he had ever seen. It was small and unsure. His cheeks were tinted red, and he failed to hold Shiro’s gaze for more than a second, bashful and uncertain. Shiro automatically walked towards him and pecked his cheek. Keith stuttered something along the lines of _Let’s get going,_ and Shiro grinned warmly as he slid his palm into Keith’s warm grasp, momentarily forgetting his tribulations with where they were headed. 

*** 

Shiro blanched at the sheer number of people skating. He wasn’t expecting such a large volume of witnesses. Embarrassing himself in front of Keith on their first date was bad enough, but doing it in front of a crowd? A crowd that regarded him as the commander of the Atlas and a hero to the people? 

Fuck. 

“Do you need help?” Keith asked. Shiro found himself at eye-level with Keith, who got in his face as he regarded him, inquisitive. Shiro had been slowly lacing his rented skates, unwilling to leave the bench. His robotic arm remained at his feet as he straightened his posture.  

“I might need some help,” Shiro admitted, however unwilling to elaborate. Assuming he was referring to his skates, Keith crouched down in front of Shiro and kindly helped him with his laces —something he was fully capable of doing himself. When he was done, Keith straight up and smiled down at Shiro.  

“Keith, I have a confession...” 

Keith’s face immediately dropped.  

“I’m not— This isn’t really the best timing... I should have said this a lot earlier...” 

“I knew it. You didn’t want to date me.” 

“No!” Shiro cried out, terrified that Keith would reach such an erroneous and misguided conclusion. “I love you!” 

Shiro realized a moment too late that he had been screaming. A deafening hush fell over those within hearing range; which so happened to be an excruciatingly large circumference, and both Shiro and Keith blushed profusely as excited whispers took place of the brief silence.  

“I uhh, I want to date you,” Shiro continued in a voice barely above a whisper. He reached out to hold Keith’s hand in his. After a second of internal turmoil, Shiro tugged Keith close, faze ablaze as he whispered his confession into his boyfriend’s ear.  

 _“I_ _can’t skate._ _”_  

*** 

“I can’t skate.” 

Keith blinked at the claim.  

“Come again?” 

Shiro hissed, almost as if in physical pain when repeating his words.  

“How? Wha—” Keith stopped himself from speaking, terrified that the laughter building in his throat would escape his lips.  

“Go ahead and laugh,” Shiro sighed. A soft smile caused his lips to twitch upwards. “I think I went skating _once_ when I was little. I don’t even remember how many times I fell. I just know it was a lot.” 

“Oh Shiro,” Keith cooed as he sat beside his boyfriend. _God._ Shiro was his boyfriend. He would never get over that. “Why didn’t you say something earlier? We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. There’s plenty of other things we can do today.” 

“No. No I sort of want to do this with you. I guess this is just a warning that I’m going to be hopeless and embarrassing.” 

“We can blame your lack of balance on your arm,” Keith beamed. He was happy. Probably the happiest he’s ever been. There was a sense of contentment that settled over his heart as he pulled Shiro to stand with him. When the other wobbled uncertainly, Keith stuck close. One hand holding Shiro’s tightly while the other fell on his chest, keeping him steady. 

“Just watch your feet and follow me.” 

Shiro did as instructed. He kept his eyes downcast, observing each step he took while trusting Keith’s guidance. His grip tightened around Keith every time he stumbled, and Keith could no longer hold back his grin. He smiled the entire walk to the corner of the rink, thanking the universe for granting him such an adorable partner.  

“Okay, getting in and out will be the hardest part of this ordeal,” Keith warned the other. There was a small wooden ramp leading from the concrete into the ice. Keith didn’t need it, but he guided Shiro to the corner so the other could shakily waddle down onto the rink while continuing to hold Keith’s hand for balance. The moment Shiro was on the ice, Keith presented the other with a congratulatory smooch on the cheek. His first given cheek kiss. Shiro’s jaw was smooth and warm to the touch. He smelled like aftershave and coffee, with a touch of his natural scent. It was addictive.  

“Ready?” 

“Keith, I literally have no idea what to do.” 

“Right, uhm...” 

Keith scanned the rink until he spotted what he was looking for. 

“There. Do you see that little kid in the yellow puffy coat?” 

“Yeah,” Shiro confirmed after following Keith’s gaze.  

“We can do what he and his mom are doing.” 

Shiro only groaned. It came from a well-meaning place, Keith knew this, but Shiro being ashamed at not being good at something mere children were successfully picking up was beyond comical to Keith.  

“Just do what that 3-year-old is doing, got it.” 

Keith laughed as he positioned himself in front of Shiro. He grabbed his prosthetic hand to hold both, and realized that the act was pointless. There might have been a magnetic energy holding his bionic forearm in the proper position proportionate to his body, but if Keith pull the arm, it would go with him, leaving Shiro behind. Instead, Keith tugged the bionic arm closer to himself and guided its open palm onto his waist. Satisfied, he took purchase of Shiro’s empty sleeve instead. 

“This is ridiculous,” Shiro snorted at the sight. Keith took a step backwards, and Shiro slid with him, the tug of his loose coat sleeve and left hand pulling Shiro forward.  

“I feel silly,” Shiro croaked. He was starting to lose his composure as Keith continued skating backwards and pulling him along with him. “People are staring.” 

“Eyes on me, captain.” 

Shiro immediately snapped his head up at the request. Keith smiled at him, smitten by the uncertainly written across the other’s features. Shiro’s thick, white eyebrows were knit with disdain. A scowl tugged his lips downwards and his eyes were blown wide, silently begging Keith to make his anxiousness go away. Keith abruptly stopped skating backwards so Shiro could slide into him. Keith tilted his head up and kissed Shiro’s nose. 

“Patience, Shiro. You’ll learn faster if you focus on yourself.” 

Shiro let out a breathless chuckle and returned Keith’s chaste kiss with one of his own. 

“Right. Okay,” Shiro exhaled as if he was about to nosedive out of a spaceship and into a heavily guarded enemy fleet, rather than skating on a lazy Saturday afternoon. “Show me what to do.” 

Keith did. He started with the basics: bend your knees, lean forward a little to find your center of gravity, start by taking small steps, and once you begin moving forward and building momentum, try and put some force behind your steps. Shiro did as instructed, and though he did exactly as Keith said to a T, his balance was off. 

“I think it’s your arm,” Keith admitted. “Or lack thereof.” 

Shiro let out a frustrated exhale through his nose. Keith had let go of his hand and coat sleeve in order to give him complete control over his own body and movements. It would be faster for Shiro to learn without using Keith as a crutch. However, on normal circumstances, in order to learn how to skate, you needed your arms out and ready to keep you balanced. Shiro didn’t quite have that. Despite his prosthetic floating at an angle that mirrored his left arm, and despite it reacting perfectly to his body —swinging in circles to counteract the loss of balance sending him backwards, it was not attached to him, and therefore did not help him stay upright. 

Shiro fell. A lot. 

Although Keith stuck close and caught him whenever he could, Shiro was a big man and his weight often took Keith down with him if Keith wasn’t prepared for it. Luckily for Keith, Shiro was an exceptional sport. After he stopped caring about the onlookers, Keith caught the other smiling and snorting along with his flubs. He was starting to have fun. It took about an hour for Shiro to set a good, awkward pace for himself, but once he did, Keith decided to take control of the date again. Standing beside Shiro amidst the crowd of civilian skaters, Keith intertwined their fingers and grinned confidentially in response to the other’s questioning gaze. 

“That’s enough learning for today.” Keith took Shiro closer to the middle so they were out of the faster skaters’ way. The two did a few easy laps. Shiro barely struggled now that he had Keith to lean on. To Keith, this experience was the stuff of dreams. Shiro reciprocating his feelings was already beyond anything Keith ever expected. Squeezing the other’s broad fingers tightly, Keith inhaled the cold air and sighed happily, satisfied and sincerely content. He felt light. Lighter than he’s felt in a while. There was a sense of security overwhelming him; a sensation he hadn’t experienced ever since his father’s passing. Like his skates easily gliding along the ice, and like the condensation of his breath floating like a puff of smoke from his slightly chapped lips and frozen nostrils, Keith’s heart was soaring.  

*** 

Shiro could tell Keith was having a good time. It was the only reason why he was able to lighten up and get over his inability to be good at something right away. Keith’s smile fluctuated between encouraging and amused depending on whether Shiro was making progress and (hesitantly) moving forward or falling flat on his ass. It was only when the act of controlling his short movements into something more smooth and streamlined did Keith jump in and take over once again. Interlocking his long, boyish fingers with Shiro’s larger, calloused ones, Keith pulled Shiro with him closer to the middle of the rink, where they skated side-by-side, hand-in-hand for several silent minutes. Shiro constantly found himself checking Keith’s expression, wanting to get a feel for his mood. Keith seemed content holding and guiding Shiro through the crowd. The two barely spoke, but there was never any awkwardness between them. They had gone through so much together; their love, joy, and contentment was perfectly clear through the warm, clasped palms and intertwined fingers. 

“Are you having fun?” Shiro asked despite knowing the answer. 

“At your expense, yes.” Keith’s smile was radiant. Though he looked ahead, his eyes sparkled for something only meant for Shiro. It was love. 

“I think I got the hang of it,” Shiro argued.  

“Yeah?” Keith’s smirk was tantalizing. He released his grasp from Shiro, amused smile silently saying two very distinct words: _Prove it._  

Shiro clamped his jaw shut and forced himself to focus on his feet. It was a lot harder without Keith doing most of the work for him. Shiro had to take large steps while angling his feet a certain way, look forward to avoid skating into someone, turn enough to follow the crowd, and miraculously stay balanced as well. He managed on his own for a solid minute when, out of nowhere, a speedy child darted in front of him. Rather than tilting his feet inwards to stop his momentum, Shiro instinctively reacted as he would on land —he lifted his foot midair and froze, expecting himself to stop. So, when he kept sliding forward, Shiro slammed his foot down and physics took care of the rest. Shiro’s feet slid forward while his body fell backward. He lost his footing in the matter of seconds.  

Shiro cringed, anticipating the inevitable pain he had grown accustomed to, only to land on something soft. 

“That was close,” Keith huffed. Shiro blinked against the sunlight and focused on Keith’s face looming over him. He was cradling Shiro’s head. This was the third time Keith ended up on the floor after trying to catch Shiro. Although Shiro would normally apologize, he found that he couldn’t. The position, the angle; how many times had Keith cradled him this way? How many times had he dived headfirst for Shiro without second-guessing his actions? 

“I love you,” Shiro said instead. Keith flushed at the confession. Before he could psych himself out of it, Shiro gently grabbed Keith’s cheek and pulled him close. Their kiss was soft and chaste. And though Shiro wanted more, Keith was pulling away, cheeks set ablaze and brows knit with embarrassment.  

“Not used to PDA?” Shiro asked with a cheeky grin. Keith retaliated at the teasing by letting go of Shiro, who landed on the ice with a dull _thud._  

“Not used to any A from you, ‘til recently...” 

Shiro’s heart just about burst. He shot his arm out and dragged Keith in for a rougher kiss. Shiro peppered him with smooches until Keith whined and complained and successfully wriggled free, arguing that there were kids and parents and members of their coalition who were starting to stare. Shiro shrugged as he sat up, cheeks flushed from the cold and lips burning from the lingering taste of Keith. He wanted more. He might not be able to hold back, even if Keith could. 

“Why don’t we grab some dinner?” Shiro asked as Keith helped him stand. The two remained unmoving as they stood in the middle of the rink, crowds of people skating around them in slow, synchronized circles, like the rings orbiting Saturn. 

“Sure,” Keith smiled. “And since I picked our first date, you can choose the next.” 

Shiro hummed as he grabbed Keith’s hand and followed the other through the skaters and back onto the concrete. “I don’t think I have a romantic bone in my body.” 

“We could always go skating again.” 

“Absolutely not,” Shiro emphasized with a squeeze of the other’s fingers.  

“But you learned so much in so little time.” 

“Exactly. I’m good. Never again.” 

Keith was laughing as he sat beside Shiro on the bench and observed him stubbornly remove his skates. 

“You’ll want to come back,” Keith smirked. Shiro didn’t doubt it. It was their first date ever. It was fun and intimate but without any of the pressures he feared would take place between them. They got to be themselves in a setting outside of work and war. Skating together was something Shiro already accepted as a reoccurring thing between them. Maybe he’ll get better at it, and maybe he wouldn’t. It didn’t matter so long as Keith was there to hold him close and catch him when he falls. 

**Author's Note:**

> Zuzu! Merry Christmas friendoooo
> 
> You, queen of angst, were gifted some fluffy shit. TAKE IT.  
> Thank you for always blessing my TL with your amazing story telling. Your art is beautiful and so are your ideas. I'm glad we met and I'm grateful that we're friends! I hope you enjoy the holidays. ♥♥♥


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